Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Trading Down 3.4% – Here’s What Happened

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)’s stock price dropped 3.4% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $156.96 and last traded at $158.7370. Approximately 11,373,781 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 17% from the average daily volume of 13,720,637 shares. The stock had previously closed at $164.32.

More Alibaba Group News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alibaba Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Strong AI demand — Alibaba’s Qwen model generated roughly 120 million orders in six days during its holiday shopping push, showing substantial user engagement that supports cloud and commerce monetization potential. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: New robotics AI product and market interest — Alibaba launched the RynnBrain embodied AI model for robots, prompting positive media coverage and an initial stock reaction as investors see product expansion beyond chatbots into automation and edge use cases. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Institutional holdings disclosure — Alibaba filed a U.S. Form 13F revealing the scope of its institutional investment holdings; the filing itself is informational but could move the stock if it shows notable buying or selling by large funds. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings catalyst — Alibaba is scheduled to report quarterly results this week; investors may be defensive ahead of the print given recent spending and margin dynamics. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Rising capex and cash flow pressure — analysts highlight an ~80% surge in capital expenditures tied to AI and cloud infrastructure, producing negative free cash flow that could weigh on near?term profitability and investor sentiment. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and execution scrutiny — coverage notes the company’s AI push is being tested in real-world settings and that there remains a valuation gap; investors are mixed on whether long-term gains offset short-term margin dilution. Article Title

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Arete Research raised Alibaba Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Rosenblatt Securities set a $195.00 price target on Alibaba Group in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th. Macquarie Infrastructure reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Alibaba Group in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $195.00 target price on shares of Alibaba Group in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Alibaba Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, November 28th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $195.17.

Alibaba Group Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $378.97 billion, a PE ratio of 21.93, a P/E/G ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 0.39. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $159.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $154.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 1.46.

Institutional Trading of Alibaba Group

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Traphagen Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Alibaba Group by 2.0% in the third quarter. Traphagen Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,018 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $539,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 26.4% in the 3rd quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 302 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. Bluesphere Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Alibaba Group by 2.2% during the third quarter. Bluesphere Advisors LLC now owns 3,023 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $540,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in Alibaba Group by 34.4% during the third quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 254 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Transcend Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Alibaba Group by 1.0% in the third quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,661 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,191,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. 13.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Alibaba Group

Alibaba Group Holding Limited is a Chinese multinational conglomerate founded in 1999 in Hangzhou, China, by Jack Ma and a group of co?founders. The company built its business around internet-based commerce and related services and has grown into one of the largest e-commerce and technology companies in the world. Alibaba completed a high?profile initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange in 2014.

The company operates a portfolio of online marketplaces and platforms serving different customer segments: Alibaba.com for global and domestic B2B trade, Taobao for consumer-to-consumer shopping, and Tmall for brand and retailer storefronts targeted at Chinese consumers.